Broccoli Stone Soup
November 2012
I have many memories of Election Day. And as the political posts overtake Facebook I find myself trying to remember my childhood thoughts of voting and avoid some of the, er, um, negative chatter on the interweb. Example, my mother running in 1985 for the school board. I had no idea what was going on, but at school all the teachers were wearing “Stemper for School Board” buttons. I was proud, even though I was completely clueless as to what on earth was happening.
To say much more about elections would most likely spoil the soup, but I do need to introduce the soup which has a special Election Day spot in my heart. In 1992 we had this wonderful Broccoli Soup (minus the stone) as my family and neighbors watched the returns. I remember little about that day quite honestly except that the soup was wonderful. From that point on Election Day was always partnered with Broccoli Soup (during my dorm days it was dreams of Broccoli Soup, but it was still always on my mind). I encourage you to Vote for Broccoli this November, though if soup is not on the menu on November 6 it goes pretty well with Veteran’s Day, Small Business Saturday and any day when dinner is served. So grab your stone and enjoy! Ingredients
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In a large soup pot, saute the onions and garlic with the butter and olive oil and soup stone. Once the onions become soft add the thyme, celery and sage. Continue heating until the celery softens. Add broccoli, chicken stock and water. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes (or until broccoli begins to soften, but before it loses its color). Remove the pot from the heat and remove the stone from the soup. Add the cream and then puree the mixture (either in small batches in a blender or with a stick blender directly in the pot). Return the soup to the stovetop and continue to heat so that the flavors have a chance to mix, seasoning to taste.
Our favorite way to enjoy this is by placing a few celery leaves, the top of a green onion and some goat cheese in a bowl and then ladling the soup over them, but it does work equally well on its own or with pretzels (amazing actually to dip pretzels in this soup). |
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